Washington and Carlsbad day 2: Who's the biggest loser?

Washington schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2182/title/citi-open

Carlsbad schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/342/title/southern-california-open-

Match focus:

Taylor Townsend vs. Monica Niculescu

I have never seen Taylor Townsend play before but I can roughly know that she won't be a good mover... Anyway, against someone like Monica Niculescu, movement is very important to handle all that junk. Even though Niculescu has been losing to almost anybody in recent months, it will be tough for the young American to handle her different spins. That said, I won't be surprised if Monica does nothing and allows the inexperienced junior dominate her.

Pick: Townsend in 2 tight sets

Julia Goerges vs. Sesil Karatantcheva

Julia Goerges hits the jackpot here by drawing one of the weakest player in the draw. Goerges has been struggling for the past few months and if she loses this match, she should just take a very long break to evaluate what went wrong with her game. Sesil is more interested in gaining infamy and partying then playing tennis, which is a waste as she did play well when she cared.

Pick: Goerges in 2 sets

Daniela Hantuchova vs. Tamira Paszek

Taking advantage of her entry before her ranking free fall, Tamira needs to make full use of the last chances to gain points. She will be dwelling in the challenger events soon as her ranking is outside the top 100 now. Daniela is the favourite here, even though Tamira did show signs of revival in Stanford. What's more interesting is Daniela's pairing with Hingis in doubles. Hopefully Martina can impart some tips to Daniela to revive her flagging career.

Sure win bets: Alison Riske, Coco Vandeweghe, Carla Suarez Navarro
Upset alert: Monica Niculescu, Urszula Radwanska, Ekaterina Makarova

Bastaad, Bad Gastein day 2: What is Serena doing in Bastaad???

Bastaad schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/2222/title/collector-swedish-open

Bad Gastein schedule:

http://www.wtatennis.com/schedule/tournamentId/1340/title/nurnberger-gastein-ladies

Match focus:

Serena Williams vs. Sesil Karatantcheva

No explanation as to why Serena is there in Sweden. She has only played 5 international events in her ENTIRE career and she has won ZERO. Looks like she is there to at least win one Mickey Mouse title and to tour the beautiful Sweden. Sesil won't be much of a challenge. This girl is more focused on partying than playing tennis. Even a 10% Williams will cruise by her.

Pick: Williams in 2 easy sets

Anna Tatishvili vs. Belinda Bencic

Start watching out for Belinda Bencic as she is the current Wimbledon juniors champion. With Martina Hingis as her coach, she is bound to do some damage in the future. Anna Tatishvili is just a walking bye these days. She even lost to Shahar Peer, I don't know how much lower can you sink besides that. Bencic looks set to get her first main tour win with this lucky draw and might be the emergence of a new star.

Pick: Bencic in 2 sets

Andrea Petkovic vs. Petra Martic

Petra Martic disappointed as usual last week. Will she spring a surprise out of nowhere against Andrea Petokovic? Well, it will be tough as Andrea clearly likes it here. She claimed her first tour title here and will definitely look to replicate her previous success on this court. Petra only has herself to blame for no seizing the chance of a good draw last week to claim precious points. Petkovic needs the points as well and it will be tough to topple the resurgent German.

Pick: Petkovic in 2 sets

Sure win bets: Lesia Tsurenko, Klara Zakopalova, Kiki Bertens
Upset alerts: Anna Tatishvili, Caroline Garcia, Chanelle Scheepers